Being an artist and creative thinker, I also tend to be a multi-tasker. That’s why I was excited to review and play around with the BIC ®-4 Color Pen! It reminded me of a pen I used to have when I was a little girl, where you pushed down and several colors were conveniently right there. This doesn’t have my elementary school colors of bubble gum pinks and cotton candy blues, but rather 4 Inseparable Colors in 1 Pen: Green, Black, Red, and Blue. I would rate this as a fun all-in-one pen that’s office or student appropriate, which is great for organizing or even doodling.

I just watched The Great Gatsby movie (I know, where have I been?!), and loved the era and flapper style. I guess that was on my mind, because this is what I ended up drawing during lunch with my BIC ®-4 Color Pen. I started with the eye, then nose, lips, face structure, hair and flower.

It’s also an easy way to outline writing or organize thoughts through color coding.

Colors give off different meaning and can be a fun expression of your mood, so I thought it was really creative how BIC® gave each color a distinct personality. For example, Blue is definitely the boss, Green is the jealous type, Red likes it when everything is correct, and Black, well, he just doesn’t get it. I would say I resonate with Red the most, but checkout these videos to see what I mean!

You can get one of these awesome pens at Amazon or your local Staples, and they’re less than $6 for a 3-pack! Also, if you’d like to follow more of Red, Blue, Green, and Black’s shenanigans, make sure to follow BIC ®-4 Color Pen on Facebook and Twitter.

What color fits your personality best and why? What do you like to sketch/doodle with?

Although I liked the Garnier BB Cream I previously did a review on, I found that I favored this CC Cream. I liked that I still got the ease of applying multiple solutions (SPF, color, moisture, pore minimizer, etc.) with one swipe and that it’s more natural for my skin. It works for all skin types, and comes in Light/Medium (what I used) and Medium/Deep shades. It’s one product that I can use as I’m transitioning from hot to cold seasons, without having to worry about too much/too little coverage or needing a “tanner” skin base.

The only downside is that of course Origins is more expensive than drugstore brands, but I feel it’s better quality and a little goes a long way. The lipstick as I mentioned is AWESOME, especially since I am usually a gloss girl. This line is not heavy or sticky, and is really moisturizing. It actually has shea butter and grapeseed oil to hydrate.

The products also smell great, with the CC Cream having the signature Origins spa-like scent, and the lipstick having a minty scent and flavor.

I had fallen back into my lazy skincare routine of just using face wipes to remove my makeup, or even worse, falling asleep with it on. Although face wipes are a good quick fix, they didn’t give me that I-just-had-a-facial type of clean. This completely changed when my sisters bought me a Clarisonic Mia 2 for my birthday!

All of a sudden, I had smoother, softer, more toned skin with smaller pores and fewer blackheads. And I’ve only been using it for a few weeks now! Watch my video review and make sure to add this to your holiday wish-list if you haven’t already.

This holiday season I’ve done A LOT of online shopping. As in, that’s pretty much it. The thought of braving the crowded mall terrifies me, and it’s so fun getting packages in the mail. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve probably seen a few quick tips about starting all your online shopping at Ebates. I wanted to explain a little more, because if you don’t, you’re literally leaving free money on the table. Annnnd……

For me, shopping and getting a deal go hand-in-hand, and I love earning cashback for things I was going to buy anyways! All you have to do is signup for Ebates here (it’s free), search for the retailer you’re wanting to purchase from, click it, and a new window opens up taking you directly to that retailer’s website. Then just make your purchase as normal, and you’ll earn a percentage of cashback! It’s that easy!

To get paid, you simply link your Paypal account to Ebates, and they will automatically put the money in your account every quarter. I’ve already earned over $150 cashback for shopping, so I’m a HUGE advocate.

The other great part is when you search for a retailer, all of the current promotions, coupons, or deals for that retailer will show up. You still get those deals, plus you double-dip by earning cashback when you start at Ebates. Let’s do an example.

Right now, Express is having 40% off their entire store sitewide. I found it on Ebates below, and if I start there I will still earn the 40% off, PLUS I’ll earn 2.5% cashback! I’ve seen certain retailers as high as 10% cashback, and it all really adds up!

Ebates also has many retailers running double cashback right now. It ranges from Macy’s at 6% cashback, to Sephora at 8%, and even retailers like LivingSocial, Amazon, and Walmart! Yep, they’re on there too.

This is great for holiday shopping, redeeming holiday giftcards you’ll be getting, or really any online shopping. So seriously, don’t forget to signup for Ebates and start your online shopping there. Once you get the hang of it, I promise you’ll be thinking “Why didn’t I do this earlier?”

I love when the brands you love come up with useful tools for consumers. Today’s cool deal is a fashionable FREE app, brought to you by ANN INC. (the team behind Ann Taylor and LOFT). ANN INC. just released its first mobile app called BFF, which will literally become your BFF by helping put your Best Foot Forward!

The BFF app includes a lot of fun features such as daily inspirational quotes from fashion icons, significant dates in fashion’s history, and helps you keep up with the latest fashion news. I had a lot of fun reading through the mantras from celebrities, such as:

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.” – Oscar Wilde

“If you don’t have any shadows, you’re not in the light.” – Lady Gaga

“The most beautiful makeup of a woman is PASSION.” – Yves Saint Laurent

The BFF app is designed to help women move forward in their career and life, and even has a feature where you can search for a job in your area of interest. Man, they thought of everything!

One of the app’s coolest features is the Trendspotter. You can take Instagram pictures of yourself putting your best self forward, use the hashtag #bfftrends and you will be featured on the app! You can also view real-time trends from others directly on the app, so it can be a tool for daily fashion inspiration.

You can also mark the things you like best throughout the app, so it’s really easy to keep track of your favorite news, inspiration, videos and jobs that help you put your best foot forward every day. 🙂

Eyeglasses used to be the bane of fashion, but now it’s become a trendy accessory. So much so that you see celebrities sporting glasses even if they don’t need them, or people buying multiple pairs to wear different styles with different outfits. If you’ve been following me for awhile, then you read about my quest for the perfect pair of nerdy chic, hipster eyeglasses. Then I recently got LASIK, and didn’t necessarily need those glasses anymore. I was sad because I still thought they were cute and wanted to wear them on occasion, but adding non-prescription lenses to those Raybans would be more than $100….crazy! That’s why I was so excited to have this opportunity to pick a different pair of glasses for free from Coastal.com. I have to tell you about this awesome experience, and how YOU too can get a free pair of Designer Eyeglasses!

Listen up people! 🙂

I’ve never tried purchasing eyeglass or sunglasses online before (it kind of intimidated me), but this was a really easy buying experience. Coastal.com has become the largest online retailer of eyeglasses and contact lenses in North America, and I could definitely see why! They have all of the big designer brands/products offered in stores, but for half the price. They also deliver directly to your home, and offer prescription glasses, non-prescription glasses, and even sunglasses. I specifically LOVE their line of Derek Cardigan Eyeglasses for men and women, which are classically vintage inspired, yet trendy. They have a ton of different styles and color options, like this!

Since I already had a pair of eyeglasses with a square frame, I wanted something completely different. I was thinking maybe a color like fuschia, or just a different shape. I was really gravitating towards the cateye glasses, and they had a few different Derek Cardigan cateye options. I uploaded a photo of myself and used their virtual tool online to “try on” a few pairs.

I decided this cateye style 7019 in Dark Timber was the winner. Just cateye enough, but not too over-the-top so I could still wear them to work.

When ordering, you fill out your prescription per eye, and pick the type of lense you want (sunglass, regular, bifocal, extra thin, etc). All lenses come with anti-scratch and anti-glare. I ended up having a quick question since I was ordering non-prescription glasses, and I simply used their live chat. Super easy!

My glasses arrived in the mail about 2 weeks later. They came in a nice case with a cleaner and eyeglass tool kit.

I love how Derek Cardigan puts different math symbols on his frames. This style has a colon and a semi-colon…I’m so easily amused! Now prepare for a selfie photo shoot.

I’m going to leave you with some fun facts:
–Derek Cardigan Eyeglasses were featured in Flo Rida’s “I Cry” music video and Alicia Key’s “Brand New Me” music video.
-For every pair of glasses purchased, Coastal donates another pair to someone in need! Look good, while doing good!

GET YOUR OWN FREE PAIR

Now how do you get your own free pair of eyeglasses from Coastal.com you ask? If you’re a new customer, simply go here and use promo code: FIRSTPAIRFREE. Then choose from over 300 specifed frames (other restrictions may apply). It’s literally that easy!

I’ve had lots of people say to me, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear the same outfit twice!” Well, I definitely do, but I have little tricks to help. One of the ways you can make your wardrobe appear endless is by styling things differently. For example, you can completely change the look of an outfit by adding tights and leggings, especially if they are a cool color/texture. It’s literally style made easy!

So you can imagine my excitement when I received a pair of No nonsense tights and leggingsto try out. They surprised me with a pair of jean leggings (a.k.a jeggings) and opaque citron colored tights.

One of my favorite things is that No nonsense tights and leggings can be found in places like food and drug stores, so you can quickly pick something up without having to do a big shopping trip (although they are also sold in major retail stores). I put together a casual outfit and a dressier outfit for each item to show how you can completely change a look. Check it out….

No nonsense Denim Leggings

My thoughts on the jean leggings were that they are super soft and comfy. Although the size I received was a little big (I like my leggings really fitted), these definitely still worked and I was happy to see they were long enough to fit my 5’7″ frame. The length was actually perfect because as you can see, I could wear them with heels or boots. The denim color was also great and had a nice sheen that could be dressed up or down. They had a mid-rise sitting right below my belly button, and I liked how they didn’t cut me off at the waist like some other leggings (nobody wants the dreaded “muffin top!”).

One last thing is that I typically only wear leggings with long shirts, but I wanted to go “jean on jean” with my casual outfit, which happened to be a shorter shirt. I think it works because these leggings are actually pretty thick, so they kinda look like jeans without pockets. They’ don’t go “see through” when you bend down and such, so in my opinion they’re more flattering than thin leggings which can cheapen a look.

No nonsense Tights

Ahh, what can I say…I love me a good pair of opaque tights! This color was so unique and something I probably wouldn’t have picked out myself, but I ended up really liking it because it’s so bold! I loved that the tights were really opaque and again, SUPER soft and warm. Like, “you’ve gotta feel ’em” soft.

I also loved that I could take my Summer clothes like shorts, and make them Wintery by adding these punchy tights. There’s also a bit of a control top which is nice, and the Medium was perfect for my height.

For additional style points, try keeping the rest of the outfit neutral and adding one other colorful accessory to compliment the colorful tights. Like a bright lip, bracelet, purse, or heels!

Did you know that fashion expert Jill Martin is a style Ambassador for No nonsense? Checkout this fun video for more information and additional tight/legging colors!

I keep in touch with No nonsense on Facebook and Twitter, so make sure to follow along. I love that No nonsense can really add affordable, modern style to your wardrobe!

Which of my looks above do you like best? Have you or will you try No nonsense tights or leggings? Leave me a comment and let me know! 🙂